Drying apparatus



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1,535,804 l... H BERGMAN DRYING' APPARATUS Filed oct, 1s, 192:5 3 sheets-sheet z April 28, 1925. Y 1,535,804

L. H. BERGMAN DRYING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 13, 1923 s sheets-Sheet 5 W" im l Fg@ l f6 l ,l .40 q \\,Y N /r v 10 1 I 59 i; f y myw 'Patented Apr. 28,1925. i ,y i y -l,53'5,804

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

LABS H. BERG'MAN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORLTO RAYMOND BROS. ENGINEER- ING CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .A CORPORATION F ILLINOIS.

DRYING APPARATUS.

Application filed October 13, 1923. Serial No. 668,333.

- To all whom 'it may concern.' l is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

Be it known that I, LABS H. BERGMAN, whereinV like characters of reference desiga citizen of the United States, residing at nate'corresponding parts, and wherein- Chicago, in the county of Cook and State Flg. 1 is a side view, partly 1n section, of

of Illinois, have invented certain new and my improved drying apparatus. 5l Vuseful Improvements in Drying Apparatus, F1g. 2 is a vertical s ection taken on lm e of which the following is a specification. 2-2 of Fig. l, looking 1n the direction indl- My invention relates to drying apparatus cated by the arrow. and has for its object to provide an efficient Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of and economical means for drying material one of the chutes forming apart of my im- 60 such as comminuted coal. proved drying apparatus. I

The invention consists of a drying tower Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on having certain improved arrangements, conline 1-I o f Fig. 3.. Structions and combinations of parts and Fig. 5 1S a side view inelevat-lon of my devices whereby the material to be dried impIOVQd drying OWGI IOOkiIlg tOWardS the 05 may be introduced'into the tower at the left side of Fig. 1.

upper end thereof and passed by gravity l Fig. 6 is a cross section of one of the mixover a plurality of heated inclined chutes ing and' forwarding members employed in in opposition to a draft of heated air. my ilppalltu. i

One of the specific objects of my inven- Fig. 7 is a view, in perspective, of one ele- 70 tion is to provide an arrangement and con ment embodied in the miXlDI and forwardfstruct-ion of inclinedvchutes whereby the ining member shown in Fig. 6, and

clination of the chutes may be varied so as Fig. 8 is a sectional view, taken on line to control the velocity of the material and `8--8 Of Fig- 5, illustrating the COnSI'llCtiOll thereby increase or diminish the period durof part of the mechanism for driving-the 75' ing which the material is subjected to the mixing and forwarding members. dryin infiuence of the heated air, Vand to The preferredconstruction of drying approvi ethe inclined chutes with air pas- .paratus consists', preferably, of a closed drysages so arranged as to permit the heated ing tower 10 having an inlet port 11 at its air to thoroughly permeate the material. up er end and formed atits lower end with 80 Another specific .object-0f the invention a liopper shaped bottom portion 12 prols to provide impro-ved agitating and forvided with a discharge port 13. warding devices at the discharge end of TheJ tower 10 may be of any suitable certain chutes, which devices receive the maheight and encloses one or more inclined terial from said chutes and deliver it interchutes over which the material slides by 35 mittently to the upper end of the adjacent Vgravity from the inlet port to the discharge lower chute and thereby prevent the fine parort. In the drawings the apparatus is ticles of material from collecting at the dislillustrated as being provided with three charge and receivmg ends of the chutes in chutes: a top chute 14, an intermediate chute a manner to interfere with the proper move- 15 and a bottom chute 16. lEach of the 90 ment o f the I naterlal. chutes is made up of a plurality of angle The lnvention has for further objects such bars 1'( arranged parallel to each other and other new and lmproved arran ments, consecured by means of attaching angles 18 to .structlonsand comblnations o parts relat- .side members 19. The angle bars 17 are mg todrymg apparatus as willbehereinafter arranged with respect to each other so as 95 dcscrlbed and claimed for carrying out the` -toprovide a stepped or cataract configuraabove stated objects and such other objects tion in cross section; the webs of the angle j as will appear from the following. ,descripbars, which provide the surface over which t1on. the material slides, being spaced away from 50. A preferred embodiment of the invention the adjacent anglebar so as to provide an roo lair passage 20 between each pair of angle bars.

The upper end of each chute is rigidiied by a relatively wide plate 21 and a cross channel member 22. The chutes are ararranged in staggered relation to each other and are hinged at their upper ends to the side walls of the tower so that the. inclination of each chute may be varied by moving its lower end toward or away from the wal to which it is hinged. This hinged connection between the chutes and 'the tower is preferably effected by hooking the channel member 22 of each chute over an associated supporting angle 23 secured to the side wal of the tower.

rlhe desired angular positions of the chutes are maintained by means of separately adjustable mechanism connected with the lower end of each chute. This mechanism is substantially the same -for each chute and consists, preferably, of link members 24 secured at 25 to opposite sides of the chute, and connected to associated levers 26 secured to a shaft 27. rThe shaft 27, in each case, lis su ported in bearings 29 secured to the si es of the tower and is rotated by means of a gear 30, on the outside of the tower, which meshes with a worm31 on a. shaft 32. rfhe shaft 32 is supported in suitable bearings and may be rotated in either direction by means of crank 33.

ln order to give a visual indication of the degree of inclination of each chute, a dial 34 is secured to the outer end of each shaft 27 so as to cooperate with a pointer 35 secured to the wall of the tower.

ln order to maintain a substantially uniform distribution of material upon the chutes and thereby effect a thorough mixing and drying of the material, mixing and forwarding devices comprising wheels 36 and 36a are arranged adjacent the discharge ends of the upper and the intermediate chutes. These mixing and forwarding wheels are so constructed and operated that 'they 'receive a-quantity of material from the discharge end of one chute, turn it overand discharge it upon the-upper end ofthe chute immediately below it. This device in addition to breaking up the coherinfr particles of material, operates to forward the ma.- terial, thereby preventing an undesirable collection of material at thepoint of transfer from one chute to another.

The mixing and forwarding wheels are each made up of a plurality of channel bars 37 secured to Octagon-shaped hubs 38 so that their outwardly projecting flanges provide pockets to receive the material. The wheels 36, 36 are secured to. shaft 39, 39* and are operated intermittently by means of arms 40, 40 mounted to oseillate upon the outer ends of the shafts 39, 39 respectively, and are provided with pivoted dogs 41, 41a

43a which connect the outer ends of the arms with adjusting crank members 44, 44"L supported on shafts 45, 45a. The crank devices 44, 44a are secured rigidly to sprockets 46, 468L respectively; These sprockets are connected by means of a link belt 47 and are operated simultaneously b means of a suitable driving connection wit a sprocket 48 secured to a shaft 45. With the above construction the amount of movement of the mixing and forwarding' wheels may be varied by shifting the crank supporting slides 49, 49E-Within the retaining members 44, 44a, so as to shift the position of the crank pins 50, 50a with relation to the shafts 45, 45a. YXVhen the crank pins above described have been properly adjusted, they may be held in their adjusted osition by means of set screws 51 (Fig. 8

The lower ends of the chutes 14 and 15 are preferably provided with pivoted aprons 52 adapted to permit the chutes to be adjusted relatively close to the forwarding device so as not to form objectionable spaces between the discharge ends of the chutes.

Heated air is introduced into the tower l0 'through a pipe 53 near the' bottom of the tower and is passed upwardly through the air passages 20 of the chutes and is exhausted throughpipe 54 near the top of the tower.

In operation, the material is first comminuted to' a relatively line product and is then introduced into the drying tower through the inlet port 11. The material then slides over the inclined chute 14 and is received by the mixing and forwarding wheel 36. This wheel intermittently delivers the'material to the upper end of the chute 15, the material being spilled out of the channel-shaped pockets of the wheel in a thin stream' upon the upperV end of the chute 15. The material then slides down the chute 15 and is delivered by means of the, mixing land forwarding wheel '36 to the upper end of the chute 16, from which chute it is delivered into the hop er shaped bottom of thetower. The heated air heats the chutes, over which the particles of material slide, and passes through the openings 20 between the angle bar 17 of the chutes.

- The heated air thereby permeates the material as the latter flows in thin streams over the cascade configuration of the chutes and also passes through the thin film of material as it is spilled'` o ut of the ockets of the forwarding wheels 36, 36.l e forwarding wheels in addition to distributing the material over the entire width of the next chute below, breaks u the cohering particles of material so t at each particle of the material will come into contact with the to the heated surfaces of the chutes and with the heated drafts of air.

If the material is of such character as to be dried quickly, one or more of the chutes may be adjusted at a suitable an le to increase the velocity of the materia If the thatl various features of construction illus-y trated in the. drawings may be varied without departure from the spirit of my invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited exact structureshown and described except insofar as specific 'limitations may appear in the appended claims.

l I claim:

1. In apparatus/,for drying comminuted material, the combination with a closed towcr adapted to receive materialv at the upper end and discharge itat the bottom thereof,

of means for passing heated air through the tower in opposition to the movement of the material, inclined chutes over which said material slides by gravity, and means for separately varying the inclination of each of said chutes to vary the velocity of said material comprising, in each case, a shaft, arms fixed on said shaft, links connecting said-arms with one of said chutes, a gear fixed to the shaft, a transverse shaft, a worm on said transverse shaft adapted to mesh with said gear, and means for operating said transverse shaft.

2. In apparatus for drying comminuted material, the combination with a closed tower adapted to receive material at the upper end and discharge it lat the bottom thereof, of means for passing heated air through the tower in opposition to the movement of the material, inclined chutes hingedly support- .ed at their upper ends to the sides of the tower and provided with a surface of stepped configuration over k,which the materia slides by gravity, and means for supportingfthe lower ends of the chutes adapted to be separately adjustable to vary the inclination of the chutes so asA to vary the velocity of the material.

3. In apparatus for drying comminuted.

material, the combination with a closed tower adapted to receive material at the upper end anddischarge it at the bottom thereof, vofmeans for passing heated air through the tower in opposltlon to the movement of the1 material, inclined chutes hingedly supported at their upper ends to the sides of the tower, and consisting, rality of angle bars spaced a art one above another-to provide a series o cascades over which the materlal slides by gravity anu to provide an air passage between each pair in each case, of a plu-` of. cascades, wherebythe heated air peri meates the material as it passes .over said chutes, and means for supporting the lower ends of said chutes adapted to be separately adjustable to vary the inclination of the chutesso as to vary the velocity of the material.

4. In apparatus for 'drying comminuted material, the combination withy a closed the discharge end of one chute and deliver it to the upper end of another chute.

5. In apparatus for drying comminuted and a mixing and-forwarding' material, the ,combination with a closed 4 tower adapted to receive material at the upper end and dischargeA it at the bottom `thereof, of means for passing heated air through the tower in opposition to the movementk of the material, inclined chutes arranged one above another, over which the material slides by gravity, and an intermittently movable mixing and forwarding wheel adapted to receive the materialv from the discharge end of one chute Vand deliver it to the upper end of another chute.

6. In apparatus for drying comminuted material, the combination with a closed tower, adapted to 'receive material at the upper end and discharge it at the bottom thereof, of means for passing heated air through the tower in opposition to the move ment of the material, inclined chutes arranged one above another, over which the material slides by gravity and intermittently i operated mixing 'and distributing wheelsV adapted to receive the material from the lower end of a chute and deliver it to the upper end ofan adjacent lower chute.

7. In apparatusfor 'dryingl comminuted material, the combination with a closed tower adapted to receive material at the up per end and discharge it at the bottomv thereof,'of means for passing heated air through the tower in opposition to the movement of the material, inclined chutes'arranged one above another, over which the material slides by gravity, mixing and 'distributing wheels formed with a Iplurality of pockets adapted to receive the material from the lower end of a chute and deliver it to the upper end of an adjacent lower chute, and intermittentlyoperated mechanisms for operating said mlxlng and distributing wheels comprlslng a ratchet gear operatively connected with each of said mlxing and dissaid ra/tchets and adapted to impart oscillating movement thereto,'said crank mechanism consisting in eacn case of a sprocket, a crank thereof, of means for passing heated air 10 through the tower in opposition tothe movement of the material, an inclined chute in said tower formed with a series of steps providing cascades yover which the material slides, and means for varying the inclina- 15 tion ofsai'd chute.

' LARS H. BERGMAN. 

